> “Machinery hums, deafening. Grease and heat saturate the air. My hands ache, dirtied with metal shavings. Each clang, a dagger to my ear.
Grandmother’s tale whispers, the prophecy of the Batal Stone: a future shaped by ceaseless hands. As a boy, I believed in destiny.
Tomorrow will not break me. I will wield my strength. ✴”
— Scene 1, *The Hero’s Stone* ⟁
_Batal Vol.2 · Ep.2 · Scene 1 – Factory Manager · Factory Floor_
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📖 **Excerpt from the book:**
> Factory Manager: It’s defective. Again, it’s defective. What on earth is the problem!
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